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dyslexzak's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Always tough to rate anthologies. There are two five star reads towards the end.
The rest are varying from good but not my thing, to good and my thing.
I wish there were more anthologies like this for other niche genres.
The rest are varying from good but not my thing, to good and my thing.
I wish there were more anthologies like this for other niche genres.
clairbear1989's review against another edition
3.0
I got this book so I could read the Seanan McGuire short story (which is part of her Incryptid series that I devoured in Autumn last year). Her story, I read back in October. I hate having unfinished books so I read the rest this week.
It was ok. There were 2 authors I had heard of and read things by, and I enjoyed one of their stories. I enjoyed a few more (noted down the name of one to read their other books), and 1 story I skipped past entirely because I was so bored.
Ultimately, I read these books to complete series I’ve already read, and then I read the rest to discover new authors. I only found one more I’d pursue amongst this book, which is a bit disappointing but it’ll be worth it if I enjoy my new discovery.
It was ok. There were 2 authors I had heard of and read things by, and I enjoyed one of their stories. I enjoyed a few more (noted down the name of one to read their other books), and 1 story I skipped past entirely because I was so bored.
Ultimately, I read these books to complete series I’ve already read, and then I read the rest to discover new authors. I only found one more I’d pursue amongst this book, which is a bit disappointing but it’ll be worth it if I enjoy my new discovery.
ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
I have liked "weird westerns" for a while, but I have hopes, after reading this book, that the genre will grow and produce much more. It is a wide open field and the range of stories that these authors contributed to the anthology show that. I liked pretty much all of them. Short stories are hard. These authors mostly made it look easy.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I am going to do this short, because they stories are just that, some very short, and if I say too much, then I have said it all.
Introduction—John Joseph Adams
Now I know what weird western is
The Red-Headed Dead—Joe R. Lansdale
Short story about a priest. Ok but really short.
The Old Slow Man and His Gold Gun From Space—Ben H. Winters
Weird, short and had a nice twist
Hellfire on the High Frontier—David Farland
Maybe they work cos they are short, interesting. Anyway, I liked the stuff at the end. very cool
The Hell-Bound Stagecoach—Mike Resnick
A nice weird one. I liked it
Stingers and Strangers—Seanan McGuire
InCryptic tale. You can follow along even if you have read nothing from that "world"
Bookkeeper, Narrator, Gunslinger—Charles Yu
I did feel a bit confused with this one
Holy Jingle—Alan Dean Foster
A bit so and so.
The Man With No Heart—Beth Revis
I wondered where this one was going and at the end I totally wanted a book about him. Cool.
Wrecking Party—Alastair Reynolds
Scary future for all of us, nice sense of doom
Hell from the East—Hugh Howey
I read it 30 min ago and have forgotten it already *checks* Right, sun dance. Ok the concept was interesting of what is to come
Second Hand—Rajan Khanna
Same with this one *check* Right, cards. Needed more explaining
Alvin and the Apple Tree—Orson Scott Card
I have not read the Alvin books so..who is Alvin? Anyway freaky town!
Madam Damnable’s Sewing Circle—Elizabeth Bear
Not that much happened, I know they are short but still
Strong Medicine—Tad Williams
Now this was one weird place. Very nice.
Red Dreams—Jonathan Maberry
Freaky end, I do like freaky endings.
Bamboolzed—Kelley Armstrong
A good story
Sundown—Tobias S. Buckell
I could have needed some more explanations here, it should have been longer
La Madre Del Oro—Jeffrey Ford
Ohhh, the end, I need more, what was that?! Awesome, creepy.
What I Assume You Shall Assume—Ken Liu
Eh, I mean ok, but I would rather have read this set in China and not a backstory
The Devil’s Jack—Laura Anne Gilman
Interesting fellow this Jack.
The Golden Age—Walter Jon Williams
Ha, this one was weird too, but hey that is why they are weird westerns. Got to love that
Neversleeps—Fred Van Lente
Hey they mentioned Tesla, that is always good, cos booo Edison, Tesla rules! Could have been even more interesting fully fleshed out.
Dead Man’s Hand—Christie Yant
I did not get this one. Was it even a story?
And like always, some were good, some were ok, some I still remember, some I forgot. It's an anthology after all and every story will not be to my taste, they never are. But what they all had in common was that even if I was not a fan, they were still interesting. So weird cool stories set in a west you have not seen before.
Introduction—John Joseph Adams
Now I know what weird western is
The Red-Headed Dead—Joe R. Lansdale
Short story about a priest. Ok but really short.
The Old Slow Man and His Gold Gun From Space—Ben H. Winters
Weird, short and had a nice twist
Hellfire on the High Frontier—David Farland
Maybe they work cos they are short, interesting. Anyway, I liked the stuff at the end. very cool
The Hell-Bound Stagecoach—Mike Resnick
A nice weird one. I liked it
Stingers and Strangers—Seanan McGuire
InCryptic tale. You can follow along even if you have read nothing from that "world"
Bookkeeper, Narrator, Gunslinger—Charles Yu
I did feel a bit confused with this one
Holy Jingle—Alan Dean Foster
A bit so and so.
The Man With No Heart—Beth Revis
I wondered where this one was going and at the end I totally wanted a book about him. Cool.
Wrecking Party—Alastair Reynolds
Scary future for all of us, nice sense of doom
Hell from the East—Hugh Howey
I read it 30 min ago and have forgotten it already *checks* Right, sun dance. Ok the concept was interesting of what is to come
Second Hand—Rajan Khanna
Same with this one *check* Right, cards. Needed more explaining
Alvin and the Apple Tree—Orson Scott Card
I have not read the Alvin books so..who is Alvin? Anyway freaky town!
Madam Damnable’s Sewing Circle—Elizabeth Bear
Not that much happened, I know they are short but still
Strong Medicine—Tad Williams
Now this was one weird place. Very nice.
Red Dreams—Jonathan Maberry
Freaky end, I do like freaky endings.
Bamboolzed—Kelley Armstrong
A good story
Sundown—Tobias S. Buckell
I could have needed some more explanations here, it should have been longer
La Madre Del Oro—Jeffrey Ford
Ohhh, the end, I need more, what was that?! Awesome, creepy.
What I Assume You Shall Assume—Ken Liu
Eh, I mean ok, but I would rather have read this set in China and not a backstory
The Devil’s Jack—Laura Anne Gilman
Interesting fellow this Jack.
The Golden Age—Walter Jon Williams
Ha, this one was weird too, but hey that is why they are weird westerns. Got to love that
Neversleeps—Fred Van Lente
Hey they mentioned Tesla, that is always good, cos booo Edison, Tesla rules! Could have been even more interesting fully fleshed out.
Dead Man’s Hand—Christie Yant
I did not get this one. Was it even a story?
And like always, some were good, some were ok, some I still remember, some I forgot. It's an anthology after all and every story will not be to my taste, they never are. But what they all had in common was that even if I was not a fan, they were still interesting. So weird cool stories set in a west you have not seen before.
zraitor's review against another edition
5.0
While I've certainly read weird Western stories that had found themselves randomly in other collections I've gone through, this was my first whole experience of it, and I gotta say, it's pretty darn good.
There was a huge, huge variety of plots and writing styles, which was a boon for this collection. I really, really appreciated this one, and I think I found a new genre to enjoy, along with my usual preference for horror/dark fiction.
Though the majority of the stories have a cowboy-like main character battling through the expected tropes of the Wild West, it never gets old and stays fresh throughout. This one has it all: giant insect monsters, magic, steampunk technology, other worlds, clockwork people, etc.
My two favorites were 'Second Hand,' people are able to gain a special deck of cards which they can perform all sorts of magic with, but once a card is used, it burns away, so they covet and guard their decks carefully. I would genuinely read a longer work of that, and it created a cool concept/world. And then, 'The Golden Age,' a fantastic story about a Batman-like character, The Condor, who hunts down criminals, unknowingly, or maybe not, turning them into supervillains. I found this not only to be the best in the collection but probably one of the best short stories I've ever read. It blew me away how good it was—so much fun.
It's a wonderful collection of stories. If you're at all interested, don't think any further about it; just do it.
There was a huge, huge variety of plots and writing styles, which was a boon for this collection. I really, really appreciated this one, and I think I found a new genre to enjoy, along with my usual preference for horror/dark fiction.
Though the majority of the stories have a cowboy-like main character battling through the expected tropes of the Wild West, it never gets old and stays fresh throughout. This one has it all: giant insect monsters, magic, steampunk technology, other worlds, clockwork people, etc.
My two favorites were 'Second Hand,' people are able to gain a special deck of cards which they can perform all sorts of magic with, but once a card is used, it burns away, so they covet and guard their decks carefully. I would genuinely read a longer work of that, and it created a cool concept/world. And then, 'The Golden Age,' a fantastic story about a Batman-like character, The Condor, who hunts down criminals, unknowingly, or maybe not, turning them into supervillains. I found this not only to be the best in the collection but probably one of the best short stories I've ever read. It blew me away how good it was—so much fun.
It's a wonderful collection of stories. If you're at all interested, don't think any further about it; just do it.
iam_griff's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great anthology of weird Wild West stories from some great authors (Alan Dean Foster, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Mayberry & many others). This genre is very much an underwritten one & I enjoyed every story in this book, which I can’t truly say about all anthologies. Phil Gigante does his usual fabulous job as narrator.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
5.0
This is as many anthologies - some good stories and some not so good - depending on your tastes and style. The only thing is you have to enjoy Westerns, Cowboys, and the Supernatural.
Many of the stories were fun, and I would enjoy reading more of the characters (and some have novels for them). Others it was good that the story was short enough to move on to the next one.
A nice assortment here of stories and ideas, and thankfully not too many were alternate history with famous people inserted - those are my least favorite in this genre.
All in all, an enjoyable read and one that I would highly recommend.
Many of the stories were fun, and I would enjoy reading more of the characters (and some have novels for them). Others it was good that the story was short enough to move on to the next one.
A nice assortment here of stories and ideas, and thankfully not too many were alternate history with famous people inserted - those are my least favorite in this genre.
All in all, an enjoyable read and one that I would highly recommend.
kenchingfox's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This genre ain't for me either.